Controversy over museum dedicated to 9/11 victims

A long-awaited museum dedicated to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks will open to the public at the World Trade Center site on May 21.

But the planned ticket price of $24 (€17) has angered some 9/11 family members.

The opening will follow a May 15 ceremony and a six-day dedication period during which the museum will be open around the clock for family members, rescue and recovery workers and others directly affected by the 2001 attacks, said Joe Daniels, president of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

The museum includes two core exhibitions at the foundation of the World Trade Center complex. One, ‘In Memoriam’, pays tribute to the 2,983 people killed in attacks, as well as the six people killed in a truck bombing at the centre on February 26, 1993.

The other, a three-part exhibition, tells the story of 9/11 and explores what led to the terrorist strikes.

Retired deputy fire chief Jim Riches and Sally Regenhard — each of whom lost firefighter sons in the attacks — complained that the museum “was never intended to be a revenue- generating tourist attraction with a prohibitive budget and entrance fee.”

But museum officials defended the price, saying its operations are privately funded. Daniels said no admission will be charged for 9/11 relatives or rescue and recovery workers.